Prophetic Words - Height of Rhetoric - Nahj al-Fasahah - Wise Sayings of the Holy Prophet 9844388194, 9789644388194, 9789644368194

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A (true) Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand, Muslims at rest stand.

A believer does his best in what his ability demands, but craves for what beyond his power stands. A believer does not resort to jealousy or flattery, save in seeking knowledge. A believer has all kinds of natures save treachery and telling lie.

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A believer has four enemies: a jealous believer, a detesting hypocrite, a deviating Satan, and a hostile infidel.

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A believer is a servant of God who doesn't oppress his enemies nor does he commit sins for the sake of his friends, who keeps trusts intact and refrains from jealousy, sarcasm and cursing others, who tells the truth though not called to bear witness and calls not people with bad names, who observes humility in prayers, hastes in paying his due alms, keeps patient in calamities and thanks (God) in affluence, who is content with what he has and claims not what he doesn't, who doesn't stop doing good deeds due to misery, who keeps company with people to learn and talks to them something to earn, and who forebears oppression and tyranny, awaiting the Merciful God to give him victory.

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A believer is in a good state all the time; even when he is on the verge of death, he praises God. A believer is like unto a bar of gold, getting reddened when breathed upon and losing nothing when weighed.

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A believer is like unto a date palm; whatever you take from it will be to your benefit.

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A believer is like unto a perfumer who will benefit you, should you keep company with him, or move along with him, or be a partner to him.

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IT' A believer is like unto a sieve, receiving nothing but clean and passing nothing but pure.

A believer is like unto a stalk bending to all sides by winds but staying calm and static when winds vanish. Blights make a believer bend in same manner. The wicked (on the contrary) is like unto a spruce- fir standing firm and straight till the Exalted God destroys it should He wish. A believer is like unto a stalk shaken by wind, standing and collapsing alternatively, and an unbeliever is like unto a pine standing all the time against the wind to be finally uprooted.

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A believer is so lenient and gentle that one might call him stupid.

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A believer is the brother of another believer and never connives at wishing him good.

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A believer is the one whom people consider honest as to their lives, wealth and blood. A believer is the source of benefit. He will avail you, should you keep his company, counsel with him and become his partner. He is the cause of benefit in all affairs.

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A curb of fire will be put on the mouth of whoever conceals his knowledge when asked to offer it. A day will come to pass when people would belie the truthful and approve of the liars and would regard the honest treacherous and the treacherous honest, when men will bear witness without being required and will swear without being asked to, and when the most fortunate people would be ignoble, sons of the ignoble, who would be bereft of the belief in God and His prophet.

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A Durham earned in usury is worse for a man in the sight of God than committing adultery thirty six times. A fast person will be worshipping God from early morning till night, if he does not backbite people, but his fast will be ruined as soon as he begins to do so. 41

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1 A fast person's praying will surely be granted. A fast person's silence is praising God, his sleep is an act of worship, his praying is granted, and his deeds are (rewarded) twice.

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A fast person's sleep is an act of worship, his silence is praising God, his deeds are (rewarded) twice, his prayers are granted, and his sins are forgiven.

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A father's praying for his child is like unto a prophet's for his nation.

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A fertile woman is more favorite to the Exalted God than a (barren) beautiful one. Verily, 1 will pride myself on the multitude of my nation in the Day of Judgement.

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A generous man’s food is cure, and a miser's is disease for sure. A giving hand is better than a receiving hand, and start charity at home.

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A good companion is like unto a perfume- seller who might spare you any perfume, but the pleasant fragrance of his perfumes you (can surely) smell, and a bad companion is like unto a blacksmith whose flame of fire you might be able to escape but you surely suffer the bad smell of his working place.

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A group of my people will always stick to truth for God's decree to be issued.

A group of the people of Paradise will get worried about some of the people of Hell, and will (therefore) inquire: "Why are you in Hell? By God, we did not enter Paradise save through what we learned from you". The Hell- bound reply: "We did not practice what we preached." A group of you will always resort to begging till they (finally) meet Cod, with no flesh in their faces.

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whose assistance the oppressed seek.

A just leader is God's earth. Whoever keeps will be kept in honor whoever disrespects disrespected by Him.

shade on the him in honor by God, and him will be

A just leader is God's shade on the earth; and so, when one of you arrives at a place wherein there is no such leader, he should avoid staying there.

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A little sufficient thing is better than a lot making one negligent.

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A little, but sufficient, is better than much leading to vanity.

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A man gains more value when the world is less worthy in his view.

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A man of ancient times wore a fine garment and walked out proudly. God commanded the earth to take him, and he will thus be suspended in it till the Day of Judgement.

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A man of the past was called to account (after death). He had no good deeds in his record to present, but an order to his agents to connive at the debts of the helpless, for he had been a rich tradesman (in the world). Thus, said the Great and Powerful God to His angels, "we have more rights for connivance than him. Ignore (his sins)."

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A man set out on a journey to pay a visit to his brother (in faith). God sent an angel to him on the way, asking, "Where are you going?" The man replied, "to see my brother somewhere". The angel asked: "Is there any blessing you wish to expand for him?" "No, I only love him for God's sake". The man answered. The angel said: "I'm God's messenger to you. God loves you as you love him".

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A man who colors his hair black should lei the woman whose hand he seeks in marriage know about that.

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A man's son is among his earnings, the best of his earnings. So, eat from your sons' wealth. A man's prayer said willingly, out of people's sight, is twenty five times as much the prayer he says in people's presence.

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A master is not allowed to do the following to his bondservant: making him haste in setting prayers, stopping him in eating, and leaving him satiated.

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A moment of delay on the part of rich (to help the poor) is cruelty. A Muslim has five duties towards another Muslim: greeting him, accepting his call, paying him a visit in sickness, participating in his funeral procession, and wishing for him what he wishes for himself.

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A miser has the least peace of mind.

A miser is he to whom they remember me, but hesitates to greet me.

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A Muslim is not allowed to terrify another Muslim.

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A Muslim is rightful to see and act upon what he likes or dislikes as long as heis not required to commit sins; if so, he no more allowed to. ■>

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A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; and so, he should not oppress him, nor should he surrender him (to enemies).

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A Muslim should observe the following six in respect to his Muslim brother: greeting him in meeting, accepting his invitation, providing him with advice when he asks one's counsel, wishing him good health when he sneezes, paying him a visit when he is sick, and attending his funeral procession when he dies.

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A Muslim's charity prolongs his life, prevents him from bad deaths, and causes the Exalted God to save him from overweening and vanity.

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A Neighbor has priority (to others) in buying his neighbor's house. Being absent, he should be awaited for, if moving in the same line as the seller. A neighbor's respect is as significant to his neighbor as his blood.

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A pious woman among other women is like unto a raven marked with a white leg.

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God's gift for him. A promise is a debt. Woe is him who breaks his promise! Woe is him who breaks his promise! Woe is him who breaks his promise! A prophet went out with his people to pray to God for rain. He saw an ant raising its leg to the sky, and so he said to the people: "Return to your homes for, God accepted your prayers for the sake of this ant". A prostitute was passing by a well where she saw a dog at the point of death from thirst. She tied her skirt to her shoe, fetched water from the well and quenched the dog's thirst, and was thus forgiven (by God.)

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A rich man's request (to people) will lead him to Hell.

A scholar who avails himself of his own knowledge is superior to a thousand simple worshipers (of God).

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A seeker of knowledge among the ignorant is like unto a living creature among the dead.

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A small family is one way to comfort.

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A sparrow killed in vain will come to stand before God's Throne in the Day of Judgment, shouting "O Lord! Ask this man (the killer) why he killed me for no gain?"

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A strong believer is like unto a palm tree, and a weak one resembles a stalk.

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A supposedly postponed affair should not make you do it hurriedly, for the Great and the most Powerful God will not haste for man's hurry.

A thankful heart, a mindful tongue, and a virtuous wife who helps man in worldly and otherworldly affairs, are better than whatever people might treasure.

A time will come to pass when man has to choose between helplessness and debauchery. Those living at that time should prefer the former on the latter. A tree branch had blocked people's way and hurt them. Somebody pulled it aside and was thus allowed to Paradise.

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A truthful, trustworthy trader will keep company with martyrs in the Day of Judgement.

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■A truthful, trustworthy trader will keep company with the prophets, the truthful and martyrs (in the Day of Judgement).

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A wine drinker is like unto an idol worshipper.

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A woman has two veils: the marriage bond and the grave.

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A woman is like unto a (tender) rib. If you intend to straighten it, it will break, and if you intend to avail yourself of it, it will offer you the chance, though bent. A woman is not allowed to give in charity anything of her husband's wealth without his permission.

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A woman was doomed to Hell, for she had kept a cat in bonds without food to die from hunger.

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A woman’s private prayer is twenty five times as much the prayer she says in the presence of men.

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A young man who honors an oldster because of his old age, will be honored in old age by someone appointed by God to do so. Abandon hues and cries, myriad questions and (unnecessary) destruction of wealth.

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A woman who shows her beauty to the public is like unto the dark of the Day of Judgment, with no light.

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Abandonment of prayer connects a servant of God to disbelief.

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Ablution before eating makes poverty perish, and after eating removes obsession and strengthens eyesight.

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Ablution is half of faith, and tooth brushing is half of ablution.

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Abominables lie on the way to Paradise, and passions pave the way to Hell.

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Abstain from the (material) world, and beloved to God you will turn out to be, and connive at people's possessions and they'll come to love thee.

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Abstinence is the best feature of your faith (religion).

Abstinence refreshes one's body and soul, and worldliness makes them suffer.

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Abstinence refreshes one’s body and soul, worldliness increases one’s Sorrows, and debauchery hardens one’s heart.

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Abundant speech brings forth no eloquence; eloquence is meditation on what God and his Holy Prophet love. Neither is stammering a defect of tongue; stammering comes from deficient knowledge of Truth (God).

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Accept the first offer in transactions, for profit follows leniency.

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Accept truth from anybody (being him a child or and old man), even if he is an enemy or a stranger, and do not accept falsehood from anybody (being him a child or an old man), even if he is a friend or a companion. Accomplishing a good deed is better than beginning it, (indeed). Acquire knowledge and through it, peace (of mind) and soberness gain, and to your teacher humble remain.

Act upon marriage as a tradition, for I feel proud of your great population.

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Actions depend on (are rewarded according to) intentions.

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Adulterous are the women who marry in the absence of witnesses.

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Adultery entails poverty. Advise each other in the acquisition of knowledge and do not spare your knowledge from one another, for treachery in this respect is worse than treachery to wealth.

After me, my people will fall to seditions as dark as nights, when man will be a believer in the morning and an unbeliever at night, when some people will barter their faith for unworthy wealth of the world. After my death, nothing will be more harmful than women for men.

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All attributes are desirable for a believer, save treachery and telling lie.

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All eyes are adulterous, and an adulterous woman is she who odors herself and passes by a people.

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All forms of loaning are (considered charity.)

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All forms of lying are recorded in man's book of deeds, save the following: Telling lie in war for war is deceit, telling women a lie to please them, and telling two persons a lie to make them come to terms.

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All good deeds make one half of worshipping (God) and praying makes the other half, and when the Exalted God wishes good for someone He will make his heart inclined towards praying.

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All holders of knowledge hunger for new knowledge. All holders of wealth are more entitled (than others) to use it as they wish.

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All kinds of knowledge will entail evil results in the Day of Judgement, save that which is put to practice. All my people will enjoy (God's) forgiveness, save the pretentiousthose who (for instance) commit debauchery at night, which the Exalted God conceals from people, but reveal it themselves at daytime

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Avoid using (even one piece of) unlawfully- earned stone in (your) building, for the very stone causes its collapse. Avoidance of bidding to good results in disgrace here and Fire in the

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B Backbiting is to mention your brother's name in connection with what he hates.

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Backbiting the wicked is permissible.

Bad - temperedness is ill- omened, obedience to women is regrettable, and good- naturedness is growth.

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Bad- temperedness is ill- omened, and the worst of you is the most illtempered one. Bad- temperedness spoils one's deeds just as vinegar acetifies honey.

Be a company to the Quran and make it your leader and guide, for it's the word of the Lord of the worlds. It belongs to Him and to Him will it return. Believe in its allegorical verses and take lessons from its parables.

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Be a follower to the Book of God forever. Be afraid of the oppressor's curse, for it mounts on clouds (i.e. ascends to the heavens), and God, the Exalted, says: I swear by My Honor and Glory to help you though it may take time. Be afraid of the oppressor's curse, though an infidel he might be, for it is immediately answered by the Great, Powerful God. [ il

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Be an early bird in seeking knowledge, for early- rising brings you blessing and prosperity. Be an scholar or a student, a listener or a lover of lore, and be not the fifth (of these four), for you'll perish.

Be careful about a believer's wit, for he looks (at things) through the light of God, the Most High!

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Be clean to the extent possible, for the Exalted God has founded Islam on cleanliness, and nobody enters Paradise save the clean. Be duly modest towards God, for he who does so, should control his head and mind as well as his belly and privy parts (against the unlawful), and remember (his) death and trial. Whoever seeks the eternal life should abandon the luxurious beauties of worldly life and thereby, he will be the one duly modest towards God.

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Be hopeless of what people possess.

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Be humble and keep company with the poor to be glorified before God and saved from vanity.

Be humble to the one who you, though being an slave, and avenge the one evil to you, though being of the Quraish.

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Be humble to your teachers as well as to your students, and be not despotic scholars.

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Be humble, for humility lies in one's heart, and a Muslim should not annoy other Muslims.

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Be just in issuing judjement and speak well when uttering words, for God is good and loves good- doers.

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Be kind to be praised and rewarded.

Be kind to the one who shows kindness in friendship with you, for this type of kindness lasts longer.

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Be kind to the poor; for theirs is a (high)status in the last Day, for sure.

Be kind to your parents and thus, your children will be kind to you, and practice chastity so that your wives keep chaste. Be lenient to people, and they will be lenient to you. I

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Be modest (bashful) against God as you are against two of your righteous relatives. Be needless of people even for is a toothbrush.

Be patient in doing what you want to, and God will show you how to do it.

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Be steadfast, and how nice is your steadfastness.

Be truthful, for truthfulness is surely a path to Paradise, and avoid lying »

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~ for it's verily a way to Hell.

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Be truthful, for truthfulness will surely lead you to kindness which will (in turn) lead you to Paradise, and man constantly tells and seeks the truth till he is (finally) considered truthful before God, and avoid telling lie, for it will surely lead you to wickedness which will (in turn) lead you to Hell, and man constantly tells lie and seeks falsehood till he is (finally) considered a (great) liar in the sight of God.

Beautiful hair and visage, (material) properties, and good language are among man's wealth.

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Beautify your dresses and improve your tools to shine as a star among people. Beauty is to speak well based on truth, and perfection is to act well based on honesty.

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ju&G jgj-i U .(jjbJL JIjuUI ,j-—>

Begin (your affairs) with what God has begun with.

• 4j aJI Vju IL Ijjul ja

,2

Begin your day with charity, for it surely stops calamity. Being a bad company stinginess, insult and temperedness.

.AS ball

means bad-

Being a means for God to lead a man weighs over everything on which rises and falls the Sun.

A.m I Gdl I c.

■>j bjjJ

y j'is-ji u

Blessed are the sincere ones who are lights of guidance, enlightening all dark seditions through their brightness.

Blessed are those who take precedence over others in seeking God's support, who accept the truth when they face it, and who judge

131 JS Jl dll > JI

U

•> 44

Height of Rhetoric

u among people themselves.

as

they

do

for

T

Blessed is he whose faults stop him attending to people's faults.

Blessed is one who connives at ignorance, dispenses the excess of his wealth, and treats people justly.

Vj-£'X.

jjJji

Blessed is the one who controls his tongue and sobs for his sins. x x

3

o >

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> i-

j), U

Uil?^

Blessed is the one who is guided to Islam, who has sufficient sustenance, and who is contented with it. I

j

i

I

Blessed is the one who keeps humble without being deficient in anything, suppresses his soul (carnal desires) without being poor, dispenses from his lawfully- earned wealth, makes friend with men of deep knowledge and wisdom, and sympathizes with the poor and the indigent. Blessed is the one who suppresses his soul (carnal desires) and purifies his earning- who has a pure mind and a good- looking appearance and who keeps people aloof from his evil. Blessed is the one who puts his knowledge to practice, dispenses the

la

J11-

& I ... ^ a!c*

Blessed is the one who is a Muslim with sufficient sustenance.

I

X

X® *4

d—J’-k Cr^

Blessed is the one who has a long life, good deeds and a happy ending, for God is pleased with him, and woe to the one who has a long life, evil deeds and an unhappy ending, for God is displeased with him.

.'^3 Ulis' ie

Jij .i-ziaLi Jx j JL-1

'

x

Xx^>°xi".

OX

x»

-*

*- J 4x^*4^

J—c

“

; jO

Calamity is in pledge of (man's) words- when someone says, "By God I will not do such a thing," Satan abandons all his affairs and craves for making him commit sins.

ju u •j’jiiL

Call unto your Lord and believe that He will hear you, and know that God will not grant the prayers of those with negligent hearts.

Calling to good weighs over silence, and silence weighs over calling to evil.

Carnal desires will be forgiven, if not put to words or action. Carrying out heavenly- ordained punishments in this very world is better for men than forty days of raining.

Casting an unlawful look (at a woman) is a poisoned arrow from Satan.

3k I. CjS

.1^x13^!

Ixji I. jj >L>j

aLK”

U aIjg **


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jj>u ■G-LLp

j*^~' Cr° fj"

1*

j

u

Gj^i

[’■4—'

je

«

1 Height of Rhetoric

48

J

diiU

Causing the world to decline is more tolerable to God than killing a Muslim.

i

Caution does not block the way of fate.

.jjjs'ji-j u

Caution is not useful against fate; rather, praying is of use against the befallen and non- befallen (events). J

jJlji 3-

Charity blocks seventy doors to evil.

•1 Charity puts sins out just as water extinguishes fire.

1 ui

cc

jii'Jjl U

iJr Jjj-i Jilii

Charity to the needy is only alms­ giving, but to the is alms- giving as well as strengthening kinship ties.

Charily wards off hard deaths.

i

Chastity and faith are interrelated. Should one of them vanish, the other will (definitely) perish.

.z/ji d

IsjLJI ja

uJ

U

pS isu

! Chastity and faith are interrelated; none lasts without the other.

i

'J

j

la ajuJ

ilOaUl Je

Cleanliness has root in faith.

riAii i zs fuiji

Cleanness of food (lawfully- earned food) results in an increase of food, faith, and sustenance. Closer to you than your shoelaces is Paradise, and Hell is likewise. I

-•

Color your white hair and stop looking like the Jews. 1 ’

Comb your beard and pare your nails, for satans (microbes) move

&

.i

jiJ

J

i^3 •(J'isj

rjk ffl

Height of Rhetoric

51

4»La^ir^i

jj

between flesh and nails.

.JillJ JdJI

L»

Commit less vice, an easier death to face.

jai i.

Committing adultery with ten women is less sinful than doing so with a neighbor's wife, and stealing from ten houses is easier (i.e. has an easier punishment) than robbing a neighbor's house.

.ojli- C

Compared with martyrs' blood, the learned's ink is weightier (worthier).

Complete repentance is repenting (one's) sins in the sense that when you commit a sin, you should ask for the Exalted God's forgiveness and never commit that sin again. Connivance at the world is of patience and is much harder to do than to use swords in the way of God, the Powerful, the Great.

ijlh-.tll

ujj te

'uj-> JjJI Ji J-JI

VjJI U

,'rj Ji i

Connive at a scholar's slip and await him to the right direction to keep. Connive at the shortcomings of the Merciful people; for by the God who rules over my soul, whenever one of them slips, a helping hand to him God gives. Connive at the sins of a generous man, for whenever he slips, God gives him a hand. Connive at what you are worried about its performance. Connive at whatever your heart does not accept.

[fe

.aLjj «

.AX-lki dJuia Jji L> |a

Height of Rhetoric

52

4>UuU1 ’&>

J

i

Constant contention (with others) suffices to make of you a sinner.

Consult women daughters.

I

concerning

their

Consultation is a wall for regret and safety against reproach.

Contentment is an unfailing wealth.

X^il le

JG iiLill jll Xc-UiJU

tutu

Contentment is an unfailing wealth.

i

-'J

Contorting one's tongue keeps man from wrong. Control your tongue as well as your private parts.

.dliO

Control your tongue.

i

i J

Cover your sexual organs in the presence of all but your wives and bonds women. It was asked: "What about relatives?" The Holy Prophet replied: "They should try not to see each other's sexual organs." "What if one of us be naked at his (her) own privacy?," He was asked. The Holy Prophet said: "One must be much more chaste to God than to people."

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|» 0

»i

: JiP *dl■ «*—XL»

oil

I—(jl cJda£—J jl :JI_5

ya

•LM L'd>1 jlf lol

.^dJi

J jii 'an Jii

Cover your thighs, for they're part of man's privy parts.

Creating Adam in Paradise, the Exalted God left him on his own for sometime. Then, Satan began to move around watching him, and finally finding him empty- minded, he came to understand that Adam was not a self- possessed creature.

Creatures are God's and lands are His too, and whoever cultivates a

iXli j 'rsT jgj 'an

cclj 4-Ji cjj-fr

bi 'an

& U

u

olj L-ilS

.Ojil

Death is a gift for believers. Death is the expiation (of sins) for all Muslim men and women.

jii |e

j J'jJ 'duU.i

oUji

• J * J

» '

.-

jll '

1

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Debt causes day's abasement and night's grief.

jd)L;gLa^jr^

U

Debt causes defect in one's faith and descent. Debt defiles one's faith. Debt is God's banner on earth, which He puts on the shoulder of the one He wishes to abase.

Declining your subjects' daily bread suffices to make of you a sinner.

Delay in the payment of debt is a form of injustice.

Delay in three things is not allowed: setting prayers in due time, carrying a dead body (for burial) as soon as possible, and marrying a widow to someone equal in status with her. Deprived from my intercession will be the one who does not accept someone's sincere or insincere apology. Descended to me Gabriel and said: "Muhammad! Live as long as you wish, for you will finally perish, love whatever you mind, for you will leave it behind and do whatever you want to do, for its reward will come back to you. Know that night vigilance (for worship) is man's dignity and needlessness from people shows his magnanimity.

p tits' ’J LJo

oLJll

c- ‘j—L :Jlii

Co kjull ‘C-JLi Co

dJtfll fcli J ‘4jjl£o

Descent is (like unto) wealth. Dinars and Dirhams are seals of God on the earth, and the requests of whoever delivers his Master's seals to Him will be granted.

Diseases are God's whips on the

ife

I. d

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1

il

Height of Rhetoric

I !

i

56

earth for the correction of people. Divine anger is so severe for the one who regards himself the lord of lords, (for) there is no lord but the Lord (God).

tiUl 4j1 "Jtij

i Jji Jji

■i

j&i

G-.

Height of Rhetoric

JJ

' the former receive, it would be quite appropriate; otherwise, you yourself will be the receiver of it.

57 it

fa—Lil C-l—c>1 a—Lil .alii cj1

Do not allow your silly ones rule over you.

jll alii alii L..-za7 ’(J jfj

(jjSl

Do not ask people for anything. Should your scourge fall down, bend and take it up and do not ask others to do so.

lj.L> |e

^'dlla JaL

Do not backbite Muslims and do not try to discover their faults.

pt ol... LI IjjLij

I

Do not be a company but to believers, and do not share your meal save with the pious.

dl—alxi> (JS'U

Do not be a company to the one who does not regard you of equal status with him.

l.

t—

dU J

iU

Do not be amazed at anybody's being a Muslim; rather (try to) know the essence of his thought. Do not be amazed at anybody's state of affairs; rather, (wait to) see its end.

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I.

Do not be contentious to your brothers (in faith), do not make fun of them, and do not break your promises (in respect to them.

Do not be easy- going to yourself, but hard on people. Do not be in gross grief, for your due sustenance and whatever is destined for you will surely come to pass.

»

X i. .dbt

1 Height of Rhetoric

----Do not be jealous, do not raise prices (in business bargains), do not hate one another, and do not turn your backs to each other. Be brothers to God's servants, do not find fault with, admire or speak ironically to others.

!

i

58

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Y, Li>1 dll SUt IJJ3 l/jrj Yj

Do not beat your bondswomen for breaking your bowls, for bowls are surely destined to die just as people do.

Do not blame your brother (in faith), for God (may) keep him safe but make you suffer.

J

M |a

.^□1 Jiris'Sc-I I4J jll dJL—J-t) Aj ljt.ll j|jk~ *7 Ja

A—111

Do not consider any good deed as insignificant, and do not break it when you promise your brother (in faith). Do not curse the dead, for it annoys the living. Do not curse the dead, for they have reached what they have sent ahead.

.

Do not demand a penny from whom you have not offered a penny to.

!

Do not divorce your wives unless you are suspicious about them, for God does not like men and women who marry a lot.

1

Do not do in privacy what you like people not to see in you (in public).

olI

JI

.1

jj Lo

> Sil lUll 1 Jd

|.

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dll jii

aIxAj

^>(1 dlto , A‘. .

Do not drink wine, for it's the key to all evils. Do not feed the poor on the things you don't eat yourselves.

ife

id CnS'LJI IjLd^

U

Height of Rhetoric

59

k

Do not frighten a Muslim, for it's great injustice.

JS jJl '-XL ju jdi ijyj •*x x

Do not get angry, for it entails evil. Do not hate (your) daughters, for they're the cause of comfort. Do not hate each other, do not turn your back to each other, and do not envy one another. O servants of God! Be brothers (in faith).

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oLJI

,olU Ji

IJJH J.

IJJbj Y, 1/JIjU Yj ijUu ■)/ u

.crji Jii su ijJc,

Do not hurt a Muslim by insulting an infidel. Do not indulge your hearts in this material world.

Do not insult Satan, and take refuge with God from his evil. Do not insult Time, for Time is surely God.

.UjJI Jl

Jx dj iJsJJj'j jUUJI I JU

L

JjJl J 'Jjl oil JjJl IJU

j.

Do not joke (a lot) for it makes your worth vanish, and do not tell lie for it makes your light finish. Do not keep company with the foolish.

. J^SlI j.J»1 |e

Do not laugh excessively, for it makes (your) heart wither. Do not leave wisdom to the unwise, and do not withhold it from the wise, for both these will be injustice to it.

Do not make your hearts die of drinking and eating excessively, for they're like unto farms dying of over&

UU J_X1.|IJUU

.’JJdlU d

U

UjU Yj (a Jlka

U bJJ 'dfti jU suJjg ffl

■i I

Height of Rhetoric I

60

4>Uaill 54J

~~ ' If .till

Ikl jbJ Y I.

JL SjtuJjl I'j'jil U

L>—UG ? -

. Jg

I—aj

'dJa '£Z>\

Do you know what a lion in its roar says? it says/'O God! Let me not win over benevolent people."

Do you know what talebearing is? It is to narrate one's sayings to others and break their relationship.

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sJI J-ij 5 A..??* 11

I AJ&,

1*

JI, M-JI,

Do you think (man's) strength lies in carrying stones? No, it lies in bearing anger and wrath when in him they rise. Do your actions for God with purity of intent, for He only accepts sincere

J_± 'Jji

IL

1 i Height of Rhetoric

62

deeds.

J

c.S/1

Don't look at your wives' or bond women's vulvas when having sexual intercourse with them, for it is a cause of blindness.

J ■ 1

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Don't you know that Islam, Migration (to Medina) and Hajj destroy whatever have been practiced prior to them?

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Down with the one, down with the one and down with the one whose parents, or one of them, reach old age in his lifetime but he cannot make of himself a resident of Paradise.

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Dreams are of three kinds: God's good tidings, reflection of one's deeds and Satan's threat. When one of you has a good dream, he can narrate it to others if he so wills, and should the reverse happens, he has to narrate it to nobody, rising instead to prayer.

1

Dreams are of three kinds: Satan's threat to sadden the son of Adam, man's wishes during the day dreamt at night, and one part of the forty- six parts comprising prophethood.

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Drop your grudges.

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j4sji

Doing another man's jobs (obligatorily) is hidden polytheism on the part of the latter.

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cd L

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Jis' g—’JI jlj l

jlS" C” j’-M-' a_/r-gJI

rJui Jis' c. p

p ,4jji

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ji CjbJuS-i j-JSJl oX.lt

la 3'jii jS>

.alii JJI

i

lj_5_pl |a

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jlj «.l—i jl

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£ Each of you is in your mother's womb as sperm for forty days, then as an embryo for forty more days, and as fetus in like manner. Afterwards, God will send an angel to it, appointing her to four issues- to determine its deeds, daily bread, death, and prosperity or adversity. Then, He blows his spirit into it. Each one of you should keep modest in the sight of the two angels companion to him, just as he does with respect to two of his righteous neighbors, for (these) angels are with him day and night.

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jl ]a

IdUS jji-o dJilp

(t—j !dl)S

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Early men of this (Islamic) nation will be saved for certainty and piety, and the last of them will perish for stinginess and (unfulfilable) desires.

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& U

i*>i WG

. ji^G

I.

Early morning sleep bans a part of one's sustenance. Early morning sleep wards off one's sustenance. Eat and drink and give (something) in charity. Dress yourselves without prodigality and vanity. Eat currant, for it condenses the bile, makes phlegm vanish, strengthens the nerves, and makes the mind sharp, the nature good, the soul purified and one's grief escape.

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Height of Rhetoric

64

J>U

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Eating (food) in bazaars shows one's meanness.

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:4_SL5JI j»J_> 4_UI iilL* 1/2*4 i

i

i

Eight groups of God's servants will be the most detested of all in the Day of Judgement: liars, selfish people, those who meet their brothers (in faith) joyfully while reserving enmity for them in their hearts, those who are slow in accepting the call to God and His prophet, but quick in following the call to Satan, those who resort to swearing in order to achieve their worldly requests, though having no claim to it, tale- bearers, those who create discord among friends, and those who oppress the fallen innocent people and are called dirty by the Great, Merciful God.

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B

Ij al?v>

i

i

Ensure me that you will act upon the following five, then I ensure you (of entrance) to Paradise: being just (to each other) as to the allocation of inheritance, treating people equitably, leaving fear in battles against enemies, keeping distance with treachery as to spoils and preventing the oppressors to do injustice to the oppressed.

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Engage yourself in acts of worship to the extent of your ability, for as you get exhausted, God gets exhausted too. Verily, the most beloved deed in the sight of God is the most durable, though in quantity little.

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Ji jii -'JJj u> jjji iJki U 4.1)1 Jl jJl JS l Ifijl

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Height of Rhetoric jl

......

65

"

Ensure me that you will practice the following six, then I ensure you of (entrance to) Paradise: telling the truth, standing by your promises, returning (people's) trusts, keeping your privy parts (from the unlawful), controlling your eyes and restraining your hands.

J Iy^i te

‘^1

1311JGJL/i oJkil

131

G..^G■ ‘^l 1S1

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Entering Paradise, I saw the statement on its door that 'charity will be rewarded ten times as much but lending, eighteen times as much. I asked Gabriel for the reason, and he replied: "Charity is to the good of the poor and the rich alike, but lending is only to the good of the needy".

Entering Paradise, on two sites, I saw three statements written in gold, reading )"There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger." )"We arrived at what we sent ahead, availed ourselves of what we made use of, and lost what we left behind.," and )" What a sinful nation and what a forgiving Lord!"

Envy and hatred ruin all the good, just as fire swallows firewood.

Even a horned goat having gored an unhorned one will be called to account in the Doomsday when rights are given back to the rightful. Even if you have mercy for a lamb, God will be Merciful to you. I ft

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Height of Rhetoric

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66

4>UaiJI

' Every believer has a sin which he commits once in a while and will not avoid doing it till he dies."

L> j.

X-&I rZti'- i-'

Every blessing is perishable save that of the blessed, and so is every grief save that of the damned. Every distress has its specific remedy, and the remedy of sins is asking for God's Mercy. Every distress has its specific remedy, but recovery would be achieved by proper remedy as well as the will of God. Every form of loaning returned in double is usury.

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liU ufp

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J^ L

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Every good deed is (a form of) charity. Every good deed is charity, and whatever a Muslim dispenses for himself and his will be considered charity, and so are the steps he takes to keep his own fame intact.

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Every hardship is banned (for man), and no hardship is there in religion. Every heart is hanging from two fingers of the Merciful God's Fingers of Power, which He holds fast or lets fall if He wills, and the scale of people's deeds is in God's hands, by which He will lift up a group or push down another in the Day of Judgment.

I

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Every king has restrictions (of his ' '
el2JI kJ J

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Ji Jakj JjL,

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yj J l. .jii Ji AjfixJ pisi. kkj

(JI > s -*

Every Muslim should pay alms. If he cannot do so, he must work with his own hands to avail himself of it, and pay alms too. If this is impossible either, he should help the needy. If he cannot do so, he should bid them to good or forbid them from evil, for this is in itself giving alms.

Every Muslim who has two young unmarried daughters at home, whom he treats kindly, will be allowed to Paradise.

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Height of Rhetoric

68

i>La3J1 '^3

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Every Muslim who loses three children to death before their puberty, will be welcomed by them at the eight doors of Paradise, being asked to walk in through each one he wishes.

jJpi > ijlij

4—iil «—'i^_4

lijJ-l IjaLj |J

.',12 Qjl > .JjUiJI

Every one of you should be contented with a passenger's provision.

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.^fji ^135"^

Every traitor will have a flag in the Resurrection by which to be recognized.

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Every traitor will have a flag in the Resurrection by which to be recognized.

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Everybody is responsible for what he has taken from others as long as he has not given it back to them. Everybody should accept his (Muslim) brother's apology when he apologizes to him, being it sincere or insincere; otherwise, he will not meet me at the Pool (of Kawsar).

4_Lo (JJi jdulj jCslLs t_y>l oljl (2^0

J~i (*J J**i P

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Height of Rhetoric

69

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Everybody should be optimistic to God on the verge of death.

.Jji

Everybody should save his face from the fire of Hell even through half a date.

Everybody will be a company to his own desires (in the Last Day) and thus, he who craves for disbelievers' (support) will be a company to them and his deeds will not avail him. Everything has a pillar, and the pillar of this religion is deep meditation. Everything has its own path, and the path to Paradise is (acquiring) knowledge.

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Everything will (finally) decrease, but evil will (constantly) increase. Everything, even birds in skies and fish in sees, curse those who conceal knowledge.

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jji ji? u (j jaUIj

(j

Everything, even fish in seas, asks forgiveness for the learned.

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Everything, even inability sagacity, has a due extent.

and

Evil and scurrility degrade, modesty decorates their hosts.

but

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1 Height of Rhetoric

I

70

4>La^l1 ...........

L ,'r'J

Evil eye exists for sure. Satan and man's envy call it to action.

Evil eye exists, for sure. It is the only thing, which might change fate. Excessive wither.

I *

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laughter

makes

heart

Excessive love of the world leads to an increase in one's sorrows and hardens one's heart.

.'Jill

Exchange date with date, wheat with wheat, barely with barely, salt with salt, goods with goods and a handful (of anything) with a handful (of the same thing). Divining and receiving beyond that is usury unless what is given is different in kind from what is received.

Expect good for whoever dies while doing good, and be worried about and fear for whoever dies while doing evil.

Expecting betterment (in life) from God is servitude to Him, and God will be pleased with the little servitude of the one who is pleased with his little sustenance.

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Exploiting one's brothers (in faith) is not of equity.

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Faith (in God) requires the following five attributes, and faithless is the one who lacks any single one of them: surrendering to the will of God, being pleased with His decrees, leaving one's affairs to Him, relying on Him, and keeping patient when one first faces a disaster.

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Faith abides not in wishes, but dwells in hearts, and (should) be verified by deeds.

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Faith consists of recognition by heart, acknowledgment by tongue and performance by (bodily) organs. Faith has two halves: one half is patience and the other, thanks­ giving.

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